Combined atmospheric cooling and condensing tower.



COMBINED ATMOSPHERIC COOLING ANO CONDENSING TOWER.

APPLICATION man MAR.15. 1911.

1,287,630. Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

I Z 2 SHEETS-SHEET 27C/ E /4 i? 2'( 24- 26 2 40 conducted in suitable lpassages through the Y be apparent to those ski To the attainment of the objects 'and ad TED. STATES PATENT AOFFICE.

EDWIN BUnHonN, or Honorar, NEW JERSEY.

COMBINEATMOSPHERIC COOLIN G AND CONDENSING TOWER.

' Specification of Letters Patent. l Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

Applicaties mea umn is, 1917. serial m. 154,929.

To all whom .it may concern:

Be a known that I, EDWIN BU'RnpRN, af citizen of the United States, residm at Hoboken, in the county of Hudson and tate of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Combined Atmospheric Cooling 'and Condensin'g Tower, of whichv the following is a specification, reference being had .therein to the accompanying drawing.

This inventionis a combined atmospheric coolmg and condenslng tower. A mere cooling tower is an apparatus wherein the cooling ei'ects 'of currents of atmospheric air are utillzed to lowerthe temperature of Water,

'which is distributed and passed through the tower by gravity-,so as to vbe subjected to the requisite contact with atmospheric air, the cooled water being drawn oilI and passed, for example, to' a condenser, and thereafter again passed through the apparatus. In the present inventionthecondensing operations 'are performed, on vthe contrary, in the cooling tower, with great advantage over any apparatus heretofore known to me, as will be hereinafter explained.

The main general objects of the invention are to secure increased eliciency in condenss ing power, as wel1`as economy in size and costv of the ap aratus. The apparatus is thus rendered a vantageousjor various con- 'densingusea for exam le,'for use in connection with .refrigeratlng lants of small capacity, such as those use at the depots of packing companies.

Another object is to provide a cooling and condensing tower wherein the cooling water is caused to pass downwardlyby gravity through the tower, being cooled as it descende, and during its descent acting upon the 'vapor to be condensed, which vapor is tower generally from t e' upper tothe lower end, so that the coolingellect is progressive and cumulative thus giving greater eecdensation, than in heretofore tiveness of con known apparatuses.

Further objects and advantages of the resent invention will appear inthe hereinafter following description of one instance or embodiment of the implrovements, or will vantages referred to ,the PresentA invention consists in the novel apparatus, rocess,'com

binations, arrangements and r features ed in the subject.

features may be considerably altered without departing from the novel principles invol-ved, I de not desire to limit the invention except to the extent set forth in the claims. In the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, Figure 1 is a general side elevation, somewhat diagrammatic and partlybroken away Yand partly in section, showing a combined cooling and condensing tower embodying the present improvements.

Fig. 2 is a broken plan view,taken partly lshown or described; but, since many of such in section on the broken line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

the water to be cooled is conducted by proper A passa sprin lled or distributed, and, as it passes downwardly, is caught at different levels by what I have termed cooling decks, the water being heldl and delayed, and to some extent redistributed, and passed on downwardly toward the next succeeding deck, until, afterpassing through all of the decks, it is caught to the top of the tower and is there 1n a collecting pan. In the prior patents the water, is subsequently drawn from the collecting pan to where it is to be utilized, fory example, to the condenser in which the-steam from an engine-is condensed, or the condenser in which the ammonia vapor of\a Arefrigerating a paratus is condensed, or the like; but in t ese respects the present apparatus is the contrary in operation and construction, and by the time the water has reached the collecting pan it has finished its work (of progressively and cumulatively cooling the contents of or condensing the vapors within the conducting passages, which,v are led into the tower andscombmed with the cooling' decks, as will be described.

My novel apparatus includes a tower of the type having its sides open to the passage of air currents, and rovided with a series of cooling decks spac 'successively one below ing cooling water to the upper end of the tower and a system of condensing passages by which the vapor or fluid to be condensed or cooled may be conducted through the apparatus, such passages `extending successively from one to another of a plurality of such cooling decks. vThe novel method involved is one for cooling or condensing any given fluid or vapor, which consists in conducting the {iuid progressively through an elongated system of passages from an upper level to ydownwardly trending levels, and simultaneously causing a cooling l1quid or water to descend from level to level by gravity, subject to cooling effects or air currents, and cumulatively transmittlng the cooling effects to the fluid in such passages, the heat extraction being due not only to the warming up of the falling water, but to its actual -vaporization in considerable quantities and the constant blowing away of the vapors from the hot pipes.

Although the invention is not restricted to use for condensing ammonia vapor, it is particularly useful therefor, and so, to indicate a complete apparatus, I havel conventionally illustrated a refrigerating plant of the ammonia compression type, in which Ythe ammonia vapor is compressed in a compressor 5, from which passes the hot vapor to bc condensed, the liquid ammonia thereafter passing into the expansion coils in brine tank 6, where it yields the desired cooling effect, and thereafter passes again to the compressor 5.

All this apparatus is only diagrammatically or`conventonally shown. Instead of passing the hot ammonia vapors to the usual condenser, they are conducted, according to my invention, through the combined cooling and condensing tower hereof, as previously stated. Thus, the outlet of the compressor connects with the vapor inlet 10 of my apparatus, while the outlet 18 of my apparatus leads to the brine tank 6 of the refrigerating system.

It will be convenient to first describe the construction of the vapor passages and the course of the vapor through my apparatus, before describing the details of the tower and the water communications. The vapors assing upwardly from the inlet 10 are conucted by pipe 11 to a point above the uppermost, or one of the upper decks, of the cooling tower. Thus, by an elbow joint the upward pipe 11 is 4connected to a horizontal pipe 12, which leads to a horizontal system of piping arranged closely above the second cooling deck. Thus, the passage in pipe 12 is continued in a series of longitudinal courses 13, 13, connected at their ends by shorter sections 14, 14, etc. Thisarrangement is seen in plan view in Fig. 2, and it cooperates with the arrangement 0f the mem.-

bers constituting the cooling decks above and below, respectively, as will be more fully described. From the end of the last course 13 of vapor passage at this level is a downward section l5 of plpe, which extends to a corresponding level above and with relation to another cooling deck of the tower. At this level the backwardly and forwardly extending courses of vapor passage may be' repeated, followed by another downward section 15, and another repetition of the horizontal courses 13, 14, and so on through the tower, until after the last cooling level the passage may be extended downwardly Vby pipe 15 and horizontal courses 16 and 17, immersed within the body of water in the collecting pan, the vapor passage finally extending out of the apparatus by the exit or outlet 18, previously mentioned.

The water may be maintained in circulation by a pump 20, from which it is conducted by -a passage 21 having a 'valve 22,

vbe considered as located in the top loft of a building, and the tower sup-ported on girders 29 above the roof.

The tower frame may` conveniently be generally square and of any desired height, depending on the number of cooling decks desired. The corner posts 30 extend upwardly from base castings 31, which, with the collecting pan 26, are suitably mounted above the supporting girdersA 29. At the top are stifl'ening cross bars 32, which also give support to brackets 33 that hold the distributing pipes 24, while frame bars 34 at the several cooling levels give further rigidity to the structure. For purposes that are explained in my prior patents, inclinedv louvers 35 may be provided around the sides of the tower, servin to enhance the cooling effect of the atmosp ric air and to prevent the loss of water. The lowermost louver 36 at each side is shown as extending inwardly to insure that all water falling within the tower will pass to the collecting pan.

The elements constituting the cooling ioo 'decks may follow, as indicated by the hori `zontal break 43, below which are shown further cooling decks 44 and 45, from the last of which the Water drops directly into the falling from each deck is caught wholly or v partially at the deck next.beneath,-and there redistributed before passing downward to the decks below that, vso that little, if any,

of the oo oling water will be permitted to pass contlnuously by -gravity from the topl tothe bottom of :the tower.v l

The arrangements at the cooling decks :may be as shown in the scribed as follows.

In the topmost deck 41 thetroughs -39 'stand parallel to each other, spaced slightly apart and extending at right angles to the dlstributing pipes 24.4 above. Each trough 39 stands beneath a row of distributing apertures 25 in the pipes 24. Thus, each trough 39 is supplied with water, and, the trough being horizontal, the water is substantially evenly distributed over its length; Each trough has at each side a row of overflow notches 40, and the notches of the several troughs are arranged substantially in alinement with each other and directly above the spaces which are provided between the inverted supporting channels. 38. The plan view, Fig. 2, shows thef relative arrangement andfindicates that a great number of downward overflow streams will be produced. distributed eevenly over the whole area of the tower. The overiiow -an'd downfall is not exactly regular nor vertical, and the parti-` cles of water will be more 'or less distributed and scattered, as indicated in Fig. 1.

The' water, then, in a fine state of distributionf descends to the second deck 42.

`During this short passage the water is first subject to the cooling action of air currents,

such asthose produced by natural movement of the atmosphere. Before reaching the troughs of the second vdeck the, downfall meets and performs a cooling effect upon the horizontal courses 13 and 14 of the pipe or passages containing the ammonia gas or other fluid to becooled or condensed. whichv at this stage inthe operation are relatively hot. Thedescending Water is then received in the troughs 39 of the' second deck 42. These troughs are at right angles'to those in the first deck, and are preferably located directly beneath the spaces between `the inverted channel bars 38 .of the first deck, so

`drawings and de-v that the troughs in the'second deck will receive the major part of the falling water. The water dripping from the pipes 13 and 14 will also pass partly into ltheytroughs. .It will be noticed that the vapor pipes and. the troughs are so arranged that the splashes caused by the water falling into Athe troughs will .tend yto wet, and therefore cool the undersides of the pipes, so that the pipes are thus wetted and cooled,at both their upper and under sides. The cooling effect, moreover, it will be understood, is the more effective because of the vaporization of water from the continual/ly wetted surfaces,

the Water vapor being carried of by the natural air currents, and the vaporization extracting a large quantity of heat `from the vapors withinl the pipes.

When the falling water and the inclos'ed` vapors reach the nextdeck beneath, they will bothbe in a cooler condition,'and, the cooling action of the water upon the vapors being repeated under these conditions, the

cooling action will be Ywhat may be termed cumulative;` the falling water -is progressively cooled as it descends by the action of air currents, and the cooling effect thus attained by the water is 'transm-ittedprogressively in'increasing degrees tothe gradually cooling vapor. The vapor passages trend downwardly in the direction of. the water travel, so that the cooling effects are cumulatively transmitted from the air to the cooling water and fromthe water through the .pipes to the vapor.

The water falling upon the cooling deck 44 is shown as impacting in substantial quantities upon the vapor pipes 13 and`14 as be-` fore, and such of the water as falls directly into the troughs 39 will be partly splashed against the vapor pipes, 'as before. stantially this operation continues throughout all the cooling decks, and finally the cooling or condensation of the vapor is completed by its passage through the pipes 16 Sub- A o and 17, which are actually immersed in the finally to a level immersed in the collecting pan, and thence to the expansion 'chamber of the refrigerating system, after which it is again 'compreed and then again cooled in my apparatus. l'he water, like the ammonia, ,may be used over and over, and I nd that, even in summertime when'the atmosphere' is at' a temperature of 80, the

water entering the upper end of the tower ,i1-,fia Vtemperature of 90v will be lcooled by contact with the air and vaporization to an extent of 10, leaving the tower at substan- 130V lso tially 80, and in its descending passage serving to condense and cool the ammonia,

to substantially the same point.

It will thus be seen that I have described a method and apparatus illustrating the principles and attaining the objects and adb vantages of the present invention. i

1. A combined atmospheric cooling and condensing tower comprising the tower structure haiving its sides open to the passage of natural currents of atmospheric air,

means for supplying cooling water at the tower upper end, and arseries of cooling decks spaced successively one below another arranged to receive descending water and deliver it downwardly, in'conibination with condensing pipes extending successively to and arranged in extended formation in a plurality of tiers between said 'cooling decks so as to be exposed at each tier to both'the descending water and the natural air currents.

2. A combinedI atmospheric cooling and condensing tower comprising the tower structure having itsy sides open to the passage of natural currents of atmospheric air, means for supplying cooling water at ythe tower upper end, and a series of cooling decks spaced successively one below another arranged to receive'descending water and lmeans for supplying cooling water tower-upper end, a series of coolin spaced successively one below anot er ar-V ranged to receive descending water and distribute and deliver it downwardly, and a collecting vessel near the tower bottom, in combination with condensing pipes extending to the tower upper portion and arrange in downwardly trending manner between said cooling decks so as to be exposed to both the descending water and the natural air mersed in said collecting vessel.

.In testimony whereof, I have aiixed my signature hereto.

EDWIN BURHORN.

Witnesses:

E, Samen, H. S'roNnR.

at the' c decks currents, and with the lowermost pipes im- 

